Month : August 2012

I can’t believe that tomorrow is the first day of September…it feels like it’s officially fall now! To get my devices dressed for the season, I made a little September wallpaper. I know there are zillions of elaborately artistic wallpapers out there, but I’m a simple gal when it comes to these – I like solid colors so it’s easy to see the icons/apps on my screen and I also love to have a calendar at quick glance. Of course, I wanted to pass along and share with all of you! Download whichever versions you need and enjoy! Happy September!

Click the images below to see them full-size, then right-click and save (PC) or drag to your desktop (Mac) to download to your device. On your iPhone, press and hold on the image until you are asked if you want to “save image” to your photos.

The last full week of the August Photo A Day challenge has come to a close. I’m definitely more lax by now about getting the day’s theme ON the corresponding day, but I’ve met my overall goal of practicing more on my camera and taking some creative time for myself. So all in all, a success. 🙂 Above is a collage of peeks at this weeks’ photos surrounding the themes: home, pair, path, fresh, dream, tap, clock. You can see the full photos in an album on my Life In Yellow facebook page (along with lots of other tidbits that don’t always make the blog).

Thanks for playing along with me…I’ve already found a different September challenge I want to try (watch for it soon!) — I’m hoping because of who’s running it, I will get more active with my photos! 😉 (hint: Lululemon!)

I am beyond excited to unveil a series I have been working on pulling together with the help of some very talented people…the Life In Yellow Guest Blogger Series!

If you’ve been around my blog for a bit, you’ve no doubt learned than while I like to try my hand at a lot of different things, I’m an expert at none of them. 🙂 I’m not a professional photographer, nor a professional event stylist, and my degree has nothing to do with interior design. I’m a DIY-er, learning as I go.

That said, I thought it would be fun to bring in some PROS to step it up a notch and show us how it’s done! I look forward to introducing you to some of my favorite professionals as they share with us their tips and tricks on a variety of fun topics.

The Mount Everest of projects we’ve ever tackled is officially underway, although it seems like every time we hit the gas we have to lurch back to a stop. Here’s a step through what we’ve been doing the past several weeks…

With our handwritten sketch of every measurement possible…

…I drew a more cleaned-up version to scale…

…and off Page went to our permit application office, where we were told that the “next” step in getting a permit (we weren’t aware there were further steps!) was to line up our estimates for electrical, HVAC, and plumbing. We needed to have the name and number of anyone setting foot in the basement, on the paperwork when applying.

So back home Page came and we started making some calls and getting some referrals. One by one, we gave people the cook’s tour and collected our estimates, which took much longer than the “couple of days” I originally wagered. A few weeks later, with costs in hand and the names/numbers of the guys who will be signing off on the work, we turned in our official application and waited for a call.

There are major bonuses to living in a small town (or in our case, suburb) – within a few short days, we received the call that our permit had the green light.

Now cue another progress pause as we throw in a quick detour to handle re-siding of our house due to storm damage…

…annnnnd, okay, resume progress….

Finally, we were able to pick up this magic piece of paper, officially allowing us to begin building.

First hurdle, accomplished.

Next, Page put together our lumber order, which showed up at our house this week.

I was underwhelmed by the size of the order when it showed up…until Page pointed out that the exterior walls of the space have all been framed already during the original build. (Three cheers for that!)

We plan to be in the framing stage for a week or two but we will check in here on the blog on a month-by-month basis for a re-cap of each major phase.

While we are a couple (large) steps away from the painting phase, I don’t want to be stuck making a rushed decision, so I’ve been thinking a LOT about what I want the aesthetic of this area to be. It may be altered a bit once I get swatch samples on the walls, but more or less, I think we have our color scheme. I’ve been informed the pink must remain in “accents only” (no walls this color ha!) but otherwise, the dude-half of this household was all for it!

While the challenge is technically to take a “photo a day” I figure as long as I have as many theme photos as there are days in the month of August, that’s good enough for me. 🙂 So when my in-laws came to town so we could hit up the Iowa State Fair, I brought my camera along. With all of the eye candy on hand, I was able to snap a photo to fit all seven of the themes for this week: ready, food, faces, inside, hole, today, cool. It was certainly nerve-wracking to shoot in manual in the fast-paced crowds of the fair, and for every good photo, there were PLENTY of shots that were completely blown out or way too dark…but I feel like I’m getting better at thinking on my feet and adjusting to the conditions. Practice, practice, practice!

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My name is Liz and I'm a thirty-something wife, mama, photographer, homemaker and little boy outfit enthusiast making my home with my family in Des Moines. Thank you so much for stopping by -- please make yourself at home!